Evolution Of A Social Reject
by Cordiform
Summary: Tomomi Watanabe never would have guessed that ditching class in a bathroom stall and going to Saturday school would drastically change her life, especially for the better. GaaraxOC AU
1. Chapter 1

Enter: The Social Reject

There are some people who are destined to be social rejects. You know what kind of people I'm talking about, they're the people who can't be accepted by their peers no matter what kind of clothes they wear, no matter how many fads they try. They're the poseurs, the weirdos, the objects of ridicule, the kids who sit in bathroom stalls and libraries during lunch because they have nowhere else to go, the kids whose worst nightmare is a teacher uttering the words "group project" or "pick a partner", the kids who don't mind being used or taken advantage of if it means being acknowledged.

My name is Tomomi Watanabe, I'm a junior in high school, and I have been one of these social rejects for as long as I can remember. I'm not really sure how or why I became one, I guess I'm just one of those unlucky few who are meant to be alone. The fact that I'm a magnet for embarrassing moments only makes it easier for my peers to ostracize and harass me.

When I say I'm a magnet for embarrassing moments, I'm not kidding. I've a plethora of embarrassing moments, but the most well known among the student body at school are: the time I randomly started my period during school and was forced to use toilet paper as a makeshift pad and a piece of bloody toilet paper fell out of my skirt, the time my mom picked me up in her piece of crap mini van and the sliding door fell completely off, the time I fell in a duck pond on a field trip to the zoo, and the time I peed my pants in class because the teacher refused to let me go to the restroom. The point is, I'm a social reject who tends to embarrass the crap out of myself. I've accepted it for the most part and learned to just ignore mean comments from other kids, but I have to admit that there's a part of me that always hopes I'll be accepted someday, even if it's only by one person.

Anyways, today was like any other day. It was currently lunch time and I was enjoying my lunch and a book in the bathroom stall located furthest from the entrance to the restroom. Well, as much as someone can enjoy eating and reading in a bathroom. As usual there were about three or four girls in here fixing their hair and makeup, discussing the latest juicy gossip. It's kind of funny really, I hear the latest gossip before most other people and I don't even talk to anyone; it's amazing what you can learn in the woman's restroom if you stop to listen. Their current subject of discussion was of someone I'd heard of before, hell, everyone in the school knew who he was, he was Gaara. The school's toughest, scariest badass and criminal, a loner by choice. Everyone in school avoided him if they could, understandably, a single look at him the wrong way could earn you a trip to the hospital. Apparently he had gotten into a fight with Naruto Uzumaki during passing period today and had managed to get off with nothing but Saturday school due to his fathers high rank in society. I was curious as to why he and Uzumaki had gotten into a fight and who had "won", but unfortunately the group of girls left the bathroom before I could finish my eavesdropping.

I wonder what it's like to be Gaara, well, more specifically what it's like to be a badass. If I were a badass what would I do? I envisioned myself pulverizing all those who harassed and ridiculed me, never to be laughed at or made fun of by them again. No. I wouldn't just vanquish my own tormentors, I would also defeat anyone who teased others. I would defend all those who couldn't defend themselves, and be admired and loved by those I defended... be accepted by them.

I almost laughed out loud. What a ridiculous notion, as it was I couldn't even stand up for myself. I would never be a badass, I would never stand up for myself or anyone else for that matter, and I would never be admired or accepted.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. I slowly started to pack up my belongings, but froze upon remembering my next class. English. Oh God. I had to give an oral presentation today. I could feel the bile slowly working it's way up into my mouth and my entire body began to tremble. The last time I had attempted to give an oral presentation I'd had a barrage of paper balls thrown at me and vomited in front of the entire class. It was humiliating, to say the least.

I considered doing something that I had never considered doing in my entire high scool life. Ditching. No one would notice if I missed one class, right? I could just stay in this bathroom stall until fifth period was over and go to sixth period like nothing was wrong. Yeah, I could do that. I could claim that the teacher had accidentally marked me absent. They would believe me, right? I mean, I'd never done anything considered bad before, so it's not like they would have reason to believe I would ditch. And even if I did get caught, the consequences wouldn't be that bad, it's not like I'd get suspended or anything... I think. I would take drinking a gallon of bleach over giving an oral presentation anyday, so any punishment they threw at me if I did get caught wouldn't be that bad.

So, I pulled my book back out of my backpack, and decided to ditch.

* * *

"Ms. Watanabe, you are aware that you could receive a truancy ticket for ditching class aren't you?"

Too ashamed to meet the enquiring eyes of my principle, I averted my gaze to the ground and mentally cursed myself. How could I have been so stupid? I had been so sure my plan was fool proof, so sure that I wouldn't get caught, and I probably wouldn't have, if the janitor hadn't decided to clean the girls restroom during the last fifteen minutes of fifth period. God, how embarrassing, to be caught ditching in a bathroom stall of all places, and by the janitor. I felt so pathetic, so **stupid**, but after my vast amount of embarrassing moments this was a feeling I was well acquainted with. But now, now I was going to get a ticket? Suspension, Saturday school, detention, getting attacked by a pack of rabid wolves, any of those wouldn't have been so bad, but a ticket? My mom was going to slowly chop my body into tiny bits with a meat cleaver, there was no way we could afford to pay for a ticket.

"Ms. Watanabe?"

"No sir, I wasn't aware."

"I see. Well, considering this is the first time you've ever been in any kind of trouble, I will let you off easy, however, don't think there won't be any consequences for your actions. I want an essay at least two pages long about why you will not ditch class again on my desk first thing Monday morning. You will also attend Saturday school tomorrow morning from eight to twelve in the library and I will be calling your parents to inform them of your truancy."

Oh thank God, I'm not going to get a ticket. At least when my mom decides to chop me into tiny bits with a meat cleaver she will make it quick and painless instead of long and agonizing. Maybe the principle wasn't as mean as all the kids made him out to be.

"Alright. Thank you sir."

"I'm going to write you a pass, I suggest you go straight to your sixth period class **without** taking any detours to the restroom."

"Errr... yeah."

And just when I was starting to think he was nice. Was that comment really necessary? I already felt like a complete and utter moron.

Anxious to get out of the awkward situation, I practically snatched the pass out of his hand, grabbed my things and rushed out of the office to go to my last class of the day, photography, the only class which I actually enjoyed.

When the school year had begun, I had thought the class would be boring, only to find that photography was something which enthralled me. There was no sound in the world that was more soothing to me than the sound of a camera taking a photograph. With such a simple device, I could stop time, I could preserve a moment which would never happen again, it amazed me. Taking photos was like being in another world to me. I could forget about the fact that I was socially retarded, forget about all of my embarrassing moments and just enjoy what I was doing. Because of this I was very grateful to have this class as my last one before I would have to go home and face my mother, at least I could forget about this whole ditching thing for awhile.

Once I reached the classroom, I hesitated by the door for a moment, mentally preparing myself for the inquisitive stares and sarcastic comments I was certain to receive from my peers. Releasing a deep breath, I opened the door and walked into the classroom, acting as if it were perfectly normal for me to arrive fifteen minutes late with a principles pass in hand, and made my way towards my teacher, who was currently sitting at her desk. Attempting to ignore the murmurs and giggling of Karin and her gang, I handed my teacher the pass, who greeted me with a warm smile and filled me in on what we were doing for the day, and then promptly took my seat at my computer where I began my work. Well, so much for immersing myself in taking pictures and forgetting about my current predicament, all we were doing for the day was photo shopping pictures. Booorring. I had been working for all of five minutes when Karin decided it was time to torment me.

"So Tomomi, why were you late? Did you pee your pants again and have to borrow a uniform?"

At this remark her entire crew erupted into a fit of giggles. I decided to just ignore her and continue my work, but Karin was persistent.

"Or did your mommy have to bring you a change of underwear because you used all the toilet paper in the girls room?"

They all erupted into another fit of giggles.

"N-no Karin... it wasn't that."

"Oh, so what was it then?"

"I... it was nothing, leave me alone so I can work."

"Eww, don't you tell me what to do you little freak."

"Please just leave me alone."

"Aww, but I love making fu-"

"Girls, get back to work," our teacher interjected, much to my relief.

With Karin and her gang subdued, I resumed my work for the rest of the period, wishing it would never end.

* * *

"You're telling me you ditched your English class and sat in a bathroom stall for thirty minutes because you didn't want to give an oral presentation?"

"Well... yeah, don't you remember what happened the last time I tried to talk in front of a class?"

"Tomomi, this is getting ridiculous. I understand that you don't enjoy talking in front of people, but sometimes you just have to do things whether you enjoy them or not. If you can't even give an oral presentation how do you expect to accomplish anything in life?"

"I-I don't know mom... you don't understand-"

"I don't want to hear it Tomomi, go to your room until I can figure out what to do. I'm very disappointed in you."

"I'm sorry mom."

"Just go to your room Tomomi."

With my head lowered in shame, and tears threatening to fall, I obediently went into my room. She didn't yell at me and she wasn't mad. She was disappointed. That was much worse than being chopped into tiny bits with a meat cleaver.

* * *

A/N: So, as you might have guessed, this takes place in an alternate universe. It was inspired by the movie The Breakfast Club. Any constructive criticism is appreciated :)

Oh, and I don't own Naruto. Just my OC and the plot.


	2. Chapter 2

Praying that it wouldn't fall off this time, I opened the door to my mothers piece of crap mini van and stepped out of the car, pausing to see if my mother would say anything.

"I'll be here to pick you up at noon."

Responding with only a nod, I closed the door and made my way into the school. Boy was I excited, these were going to be the most amazing four hours of my life. Ha. Yeah right, more like the most excruciatingly boring four hours of my life. I hoped there wouldn't be many kids serving Saturday school today, the last thing I needed was for the entire student body to find out I had been caught ditching in a bathroom stall by our janitor. I could only imagine what Karin would say, "Oh she wasn't ditching, she was just afraid she would pee her pants again if she left the bathroom." I would never hear the end of it.

I walked as slowly as I possibly could, trying to prolong my journey to the dreaded four hours that awaited me, the sound of my dragging feet being the only sound in the hallway. It was quite strange being in school when it was practically empty, it was like a completely different place, but it was also refreshing. There were no feet sticking out to trip me, there was nothing being thrown in my direction, and there were no packs of giggling girls. If only school could be like this everyday.

When I reached the library, I paused at the doorway, peeking in to see how many kids were there.

That was strange, there was no one in there. Was I early? I pulled my cell phone out of my bag, checking the time. 7:54. Nope, I was definitely on time. So where was everyone? Surely I wasn't the only person who had gotten Saturday school this week, I was never that lucky. I poked my head in again, and that's when I noticed the figure with the mop of red hair sitting at the very back table of the library, glaring me down.

Oh God. How could I have forgotten? No wonder there was no one here. Gaara was serving Saturday school. Anyone with a functioning brain would take the consequences of skipping Saturday school over sitting in a room with Gaara for four consecutive hours. It just wasn't safe.

And now he was glaring at me. _At me_.

What had I done to deserve this?

Acting like I wasn't scared out of my mind, I stepped into the library, ignoring the fact that Gaara was still glaring at me.

"Ah, Ms. Watanabe, glad to see you're on time", came the voice of my principal, who I hadn't noticed was also in the library.

"Errr... yeah."

"Please take a seat so we can get started."

Every table was open, except for the one which Gaara occupied.

I wasn't sure where to sit. If I sat too close to Gaara he might harass me, but if I sat too far he might get offended. I weighed the options in my head. Get harassed, or get beaten to a pulp for offending him?

"Sometime today Ms. Watanabe," my principal said while giving me a stern stare.

"S-sorry sir."

I opted for the possibility of getting harassed over getting beaten to a pulp, and sat at the table next to the one where Gaara was sitting, and still glaring at me.

"Now, as you both know, you will be here for four hours, until noon. All school rules apply while you're here, and I don't want the two of you conversing, this isn't social hour. I'll be in my office right across the hall, so if there's any funny business going on, I'll know. I'll be back to check on the two of you in half an hour, I suggest you use your time wisely."

And with that, our principal took his leave, and the scariest four hours of my life began.

* * *

It had only been ten minutes since our principal had left, and all I'd done was have a staring contest with my desk, and lost miserably.

Under Gaara's glare I was too afraid to do anything, I was too afraid he would notice the slight shaking of my hands, or the layer of perspiration that coated my forehead. I decided to sit on my hands, in a futile attempt to get them to stop shaking, and laid my head on the table. This was hopeless; Gaara was like a predator, I was sure he could smell my fear.

There was no way I could spend the next three hours and fifty minutes of my life sitting on my hands, sweating like a pig, and jumping at every noise. If I did, I would surely have a heart attack. I had to get him to stop glaring at me. So I did the only thing I could think of.

I removed my hands from under my thighs, lifted my head, and looked him in the eyes.

"What is it like to be a badass?"

For a moment he looked surprised. Surprised that someone as socially retarded as myself had, had the audacity to ask him such a ridiculous question. I couldn't blame him. I was just as surprised.

He grunted in a sarcastic manner, mumbled an almost inaudible "Idiot", and turned away from me.

I couldn't believe it. I had succeeded in getting him to stop glaring at me (for now). And I, Tomomi Watanabe, had spoken to Gaara without needing a trip to the hospital. This day was getting weirder and weirder.

Feeling much better with Gaara's gaze in another direction, I grabbed a pencil and a few sheets of paper out of my bag to start working on my essay. I thought for a few minutes of all the possible things I could write about. I wanted to write about how stupid this essay was, that there was no way I could guarantee I would never ditch again. Or about how ditching was a good thing for a student every once awhile. It's not like I had been ditching to go get high or have sex, or anything stupid like that, I had just needed a break. Everyone needs a break sometimes. I was sure our principal had ditched in his days and probably for less innocent reasons. I couldn't write about any of those things though, I would just get into more trouble.

I stopped my internal rambling when I saw that Gaara was getting up and walking towards the library door.

Was he leaving? That's what I'd thought at first.

He stopped at the door, and turned to give me a mischievous grin, and that was when I realized he wasn't leaving. He was taking a screw out of the door. I'd barely had time to comprehend what he was doing, when the door slammed shut, and Gaara was running back to his seat.

No sooner than when Gaara had made it to his seat, our principal came bursting in, all guns blazing.

"Who closed that door?," he yelled.

Neither of us said anything.

I kept my eyes glued to my desk, and bit my tongue until I could taste blood. If I said anything, Gaara would kill me, if I said nothing, I would get into more trouble. Once again, I opted for what would keep me from going to the hospital. I was such a coward.

"Why is that door closed? One of you better tell me right now why that door is closed.''

"A screw fell out," Gaara said, nonchalant and monotone as ever.

"Give me the screw, right now, Sabaku," our principal said, desperately trying to sound severe, though the fear in his voice was detectable.

"I don't have it."

"Now, Sabaku, or you can count on another Saturday school."

"Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place."

"You better be careful, or the next screw that falls out will be you."

Gaara said nothing. And with that, our principal stormed out of the library, knowing there was nothing he could do to prove Gaara had closed the door.

* * *

This was turning out to be one of the most stressful days of my life, and I hadn't even been here for an hour yet. All I could do was hope that Gaara wouldn't do anything else that would piss off the principal, maybe if I asked him nicely to not do anything else, he wouldn't. Yeah Right. If I wanted to get out of this without getting beaten up or getting into more trouble, I had to be rational. Clearly Gaara wasn't going to get nice anytime soon, and clearly he wasn't going to stop his rebellious antics. I had to find some sort of way to distract him from misbehaving, or find some sort of way to bribe him. I had no means of bribing him, as I highly doubted there was anything I could offer him that he would want. As for distracting him, there wasn't much I could do considering where we were. The only thing I could think of was trying to get him into a conversation, after all, it had gotten him to stop glaring at me before. I just had to be careful, as long as I didn't say anything that would piss him off, I probably wouldn't get beaten up. So, after taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I decided to introduce myself.

"S-so... Gaa-Gaara right?"

No response.

"Uhm... m-my name is Tomomi."

Still no response.

"I think we have some of the same classes..."

"I know who you are, you peed your pants in class last year," he said while turning to face me with an evil smirk.

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. Oh God, he actually remembered that? How embarrassing. I was tempted to give up, to let his taunting get to me, but I somehow felt I'd made progress by getting a response that was more than one word.

"Errr... yeah, that was me. So... uhh, you're here because you got in a fight with Naruto?"

He just glared at me.

"W-well... you see... I-I was just wondering w-why you guys got in a fight..."

He continued to glare at me. I decided to give it one more try.

"Is it true... that S-sasuke was involved?"

"Shut up."

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to... offend you."

Assuming our "conversation" was over, I decided to resume my attempt at working on my essay, but I was pleasantly surprised when I was interrupted by an unexpected question from Gaara.

* * *

A/N: Ooooh, I wonder what he's going to ask her :P

Anyways, if you like this or have any constructive criticism, please review or message me. Thank you to the people who reviewed the last chapter.^^


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